Adviser to the President of Lithuania: NATO considers Russia to be a greater threat than ISIS
NATO sees Russia as a greater threat than the so-called Islamic State. According to Postimess, this was said by the Advisor to the President of Lithuania on Foreign Policy, Nerijus Aleksiejūnas.
“If you look at the document adopted by NATO, it is clear that Russia is mentioned more frequently. This, I believe, reflects a certain understanding that the Russian threat is equally understood by all and that this is a threat to us as the Alliance, as well as to the whole of Europe,” Aleksiejūnas said.
In response to the Kremlin’s sharp reaction to NATO’s decision to deploy battalions to Baltic countries, Aleksiejūnas noted that the main purpose of this decision was “deterrence”, and that it is “not a provocation in any way, not an offensive action, but an attempt to protect ourselves”.
During an interview with foreign media, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė noted that the Alliance’s position in dealing with Russia is “softening”. Commenting on this, Aleksiejūnas said that due to their possession of means for a deterrent, they can “have certain channels of communication with Russia” to avoid “military incidents and tension”.
“We all understand that Russia is a threat and that it poses a threat to Europe's security and violates international law. This is recorded in all documents. This is no full normalization and not a return to normal cooperation with Russia. We just want to maintain communication channels for certain and specific problems,” Aleksiejūnas concluded.
While at the NATO summit in Warsaw, leaders of the Alliance decided to deploy international battalions to the Baltic States and Poland.